Cal EPA’s Lloyd To Step Down

Posted on January 23, 2006

Dr. Alan Lloyd, a Ph.D. air pollution scientist who served as secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, announced he will step down Feb. 28.In a statement, Lloyd, 64, a Democrat who won accolades from environmentalists and industry, said he was retiring for ``personal reasons.''

Various press reports in California said Lloyd was not fired by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rather, he had been commuting every week from his home in Reno to Sacramento, and living part time in an apartment, which put a strain on his wife and family in Reno, they said.``I felt it was time to retire from state service so I could spend more time with my family,'' Lloyd said.Lloyd oversaw six agencies whose budgets total $1 billion. The agencies enforce most of California’s rules governing smog, water pollution, pesticides and hazardous wastes.

Lloyd became secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency in December 2004.He had previously served as chairman of the state’s Air Resources Board for six years, and was executive director of the Energy and EnvironmentalEngineeringCenter at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada prior to that.From 1988 to 1995, he was chief scientist at the South Coast Air Quality Management District.